AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Audio by Van Alstine => Topic started by: boycephoto on 3 Jun 2009, 02:59 pm
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I would like to know a little more about the headphone drive capabilities of the OmegaStar preamp. Does anyone have experience with this? What kind of phones do you have, recomendations etc. Any drawbacks.
It's time for a decent set of headphones.
I know it's a personal preferance with brand, sound and comfort.
Thanks
Dave
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I would like to know a little more about the headphone drive capabilities of the OmegaStar preamp. Does anyone have experience with this? What kind of phones do you have, recomendations etc. Any drawbacks.
It's time for a decent set of headphones.
I know it a personal preferance with brand, sound and comfort.
I am quite satisfied with the Grado SR-60. They look incredibly cheesy but they're fairly comfortable and excellent as far as the sound goes. It works well with the iPod as well, although it looks even goofier since even the mini plug looks disproportionately large plugged into my tiny little Nano 3g.
The headphone amp in the preamp is impeccable, nothing much to say about it, you can't tell it's there.
Brett
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I have used headphones with the Omegastar (and now Insight) pre-amps.....no problems at all. Very quiet, dynamic, and with more than enough signal to use to drive my Roland home studio to record using the headphone signal as an input. The type/style of headphones really shoulnd matter.
Happy listening !
M
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Thanks for your comments, now the search begins, probably Grado or Sennheiser, comfort will be as important as the sound.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks
Dave
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I am a headphone maniac and at least 50% of my listening is through headphones. My Ultra SL preamp's headphone output is of very high sound quality and has tremendous drive capability. I suspect that to be true of any Van Alstine preamp. I use Grado GS1000i (low impedance) and Sennheiser HD650 (higher impedance)headphones very successfully with mine. Hope this helps...
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Hey Robinje,
That is exactly the info I was looking for. Which is more comfortable, the Grado or the Sennheiser? If you bought just one pair, which would it be?
Thanks for your input.
Dave
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I have Grado SR-80 headphones, some old Yamaha ones, Sony earphones, and Shure SCL3 earphones.
I had an OmegaStar preamp for a number of years and have since had it updated to the Insight series.
It has always done very well on headphones, and driven everything I've hooked up to it.
The Grado SR-80 is very good, although I think the Shure SCL3 sounds better. Not everyone likes the in-the-ear type of 'phones though, so the Grados might work better since they're on-the-ear.
My brother has a pair of AKG K240 headphones. They sound decent and are very comfortable.
A friend has the Sony MDR-V900HD headphones and really likes them. I haven't heard them though.
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Well, comfort is probably dependant on the shape of one's head. I like to think that I have a 'normal' shaped head (it's what's inside that's abnormal... ). To me, both of my headphones are quite comfortable, with the Grado GS1000i's being extremely light weight with a very light clamping force. The Sennheiser's are a bit more 'snug' feeling, but still not uncomfortable, even for long sessions. I have no real complaints regarding comfort for either of these headphones, but they do sit and feel quite differently on my head. As far as sound quality, if I had to pick only one it would be the GS1000i. I feel that it is more articulate, and certainly more 'spacous' sounding than the HD650's. The GS1000i's are fabulous in pretty much every regard. The HD650's are a little 'darker' and/or 'mellow' sounding than the GS1000's, but sometimes I just prefer that depending on the recording or my mood. It's nice to have a couple of different headphones around. Back to comfort... It was much more comfortable to my wallet for me to buy the HD650's for ~$400 than the GS1000i's at ~$1000. :o
Hey Robinje,
That is exactly the info I was looking for. Which is more comfortable, the Grado or the Sennheiser? If you bought just one pair, which would it be?
Thanks for your input.
Dave
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Hi Turkey.
I have sent you a PM. Thanks Dave
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The Grado SR-80 is very good, although I think the Shure SCL3 sounds better. Not everyone likes the in-the-ear type of 'phones though, so the Grados might work better since they're on-the-ear.
The one complaint I have with the Grados is that they provide essentially no isolation from outside sounds. That's fine if you have a quiet area but if you are looking to cut off external noise they wouldn't be a very good choice.
Brett
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The Grado SR-80 is very good, although I think the Shure SCL3 sounds better. Not everyone likes the in-the-ear type of 'phones though, so the Grados might work better since they're on-the-ear.
The one complaint I have with the Grados is that they provide essentially no isolation from outside sounds. That's fine if you have a quiet area but if you are looking to cut off external noise they wouldn't be a very good choice.
Brett
I agree with this, but it's rather true of any open-back headphone. If isolation is desired, one should consider closed-back headphones or in-ear monitors.
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I run an older pair of Koss TD-65 with plenty of power to run it a volume that's resonable, tho I'm not a big headphone fan and always am concerned about ear damage.
Wayner :)
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If you are looking for a good closed headphone check out the Sony MDR-V6.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_MDR-V6
I spend what seems like a majority of my life sitting in an airplane and never travel without the MDR-V6's?. They are easily powered by an ipod Nano so I will assume any AVA preamp with have no problem. They have been sat on, crushed in luggage, blasted to clipping (when plugged in) by the fine amplifiers provided by Boeing in the armrest, and are still going strong. The best part is they are only around $70.00. I am not saying they are the best, but for the price they can't be beat. Plus they are comfortable and light weight.
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If you are looking for a good closed headphone check out the Sony MDR-V6.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_MDR-V6
I spend what seems like a majority of my life sitting in an airplane and never travel without the MDR-V6's?. They are easily powered by an ipod Nano so I will assume any AVA preamp with have no problem. They have been sat on, crushed in luggage, blasted to clipping (when plugged in) by the fine amplifiers provided by Boeing in the armrest, and are still going strong. The best part is they are only around $70.00. I am not saying they are the best, but for the price they can't be beat. Plus they are comfortable and light weight.
I have a pair of those, too. I think they are pretty darn good, too, and I use them at work when I want isolation. They seem more durable than the Grados (at a similar price). But I think bass it a little boosted, particularly at very low frequencies.
Brett.
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I use the Grado SR-225 headphones. High end performance (much better than the Grado SR-60 series) but much less expensive than the top of the Grado line. A good compromise for me. Not for noise blocking in airliners. :) No, I did not try that, got a set of little active noise blocking phones called model Plane Quiet NC-7. They cost about $60 and not only worked very well cutting back on airplane noise on the long long flights but also were pretty decent musically too.
Regards,
Frank Van Alstine